The Battle of the Thames during the War of 1812 was fought very close to my city.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Thames
It was a significant battle due to the death of Tecumseh,a Shawnee who led the Native American Coalition - which crumbled afterwards.
Had he lived, the fate and political status of native peoples may be entirely different today.

" If one wants to have a friend one must also want to wage war for him: and to wage war one must be capable of being an enemy." - Fr. Nietzsche 'On The Friend' Thus Spake Zarathustra

I live in Jerusalem, the fights here...where do i start?
An hour and a half from here are a few towns and cyties under bombardment by skad mysiles and shellings. Our side tries to kill the launchers and comanders with precision attacks. I've been in the Army and saw some ****, and i've survived a couple of close calls suicide bombings in jerusalem.
But the scariest i've felt was during the first golf war, where Sadam threatend to bomb israel with chemical missiels like he did to iran. We were distributed with gass masks, and were tought at school how to wear them...every home prepeard a silled room with nilons and water and food. You had to carry your gass mask everywhere you go. The first night the alarm went off, was the scariest, skad missiels hit areas near tel aviv, but we didn't know were it is going to hit, and if it is going to be chemical. I was 10, and as scared as i have ever been, i vomited and crapped my pants, forgot to take of the lid from the filter, and almost choked, my big brother is a cool guy, with no fear. He calmed everyone down inclouding my pereants that tryed to put a brave show. I remember the fear from the invisebal mustard gass. They discribed to us in school how it would effect us, step by step. We each had an atropin shot for that. (It's a nerve gass). My dad told me that i could look at our dog tedy, as long as he is sleeping calmly there is no gass in the room. (we were wearing the masks the first time, later we didn't bother), and i couldn't stop stearing at him...waiting. The fear was real and powerfull, i can't imagene what people felt during ww2.. The gass part adds a scarry aspect of the unknown..that regular bullets and bombs don't have.

It is time to speak about less known tragedy, though it still hurts in the memory of all, who value resistance against Nazi Germany.

Slovenian landscape is 60 - close to 70 percent covered in woods and there are many hills and mountains and is therefore an ideal place for guerilla warfare. The SS police and Gestapo fought it by all means and there developed a NASTY TOTAL war, where no children or women were spared. The church in some places actively helped by forming 'anticommunist' units which colaborated with Germans and Italian occupational forces and reported people who helped resistance to be shot as hostages or transported into camps (if resistance captured them they usually executed all who didn't convert or were stained with war crimes and after war most of the returned from Austria were executed - Slovenia is one mass grave where Ustashe, Chetniks and homeguard met their fate).

Pokljuka is a large and heavily wooded plain, where people still get lost today - some are never found. It was one of the favourite retreats for partisan units after actions. There is a Sport hotel Lovec (hunter), which history is quite grim.

The Dren batallion of Prešern brigade completed a recruting and provisional actions in Bled - Bohinj area. After long march the exhausted new unexperienced and old tested fighters decided to sleep in hotel, for there was snow. They sent out patrol and foolishly left just one guard close to doors.

However their guide went straight to the german command. He marked the way with red salt going back. Receiving some 'Deutschmarke' cash, he took the Nebelwerfer unit, which was available to the hotel. The guard cracked a shot at them and fell under submachinegun fire. The circle wasn't closed yet. Two partisans appeared at the door and fell. Soon after a small force ran, some fell, some made it. The circle was closed. What Nebelwerfer unit knew about their weapons, the less they knew about storming buildings in the open. They ran in an assault, throwing granedes in windows. But the windows - soon had machineguns and rifles. The assault was suppressed with heavy casualties. There were now two circles. One facing the hotel, one outwards, to prevent any help from rescuing their pray. The mortars were brought and stationed. Partisan machinegun destroyed the crew. They were set up further back and mines started falling. The hotel caught fire....

The patrol returned and attacked the outer circle. They were pushed back. One of the fighters got almost naked, from a mine's explosions, he started walking among comerades, giving them matches. He thought he was issuing ammo.

More partisans ran from hotel. But there was no escape now. When the building burned the last assault was mounted. But LO! There was someone alive in the cellar, and he had the machinegun! Some say it was German Matthias, who hated what was happening to his country, and joined the resistance, but it could be just a legend. Whatever happened the last assault payed darely and the leader was killed. Darknes fell on the scene....

Interesting facts:
The batallion rests at Radovljica, one who saved the flag under his clothes, has the biggest monument. Though he was machinegunned the Germans didn't find it.

There is a monument at hotel from weapons found on the scene. That includes german helmets with holes (the person under it died) and mines. I can't find the picture :-/

The German Wehrmanschaft were really nice and honourable soldiers most of the time - except when really beaten or really drunk. The problem was SS police, gestapo and home traitors. Bastards!!!!! The country never really recoverd and there are hot disputes about communistic and traitor's warcrimes even today. However after the war a socialistic republic Yugoslavia was formed, which turned its back on Soviet Union (there were tanks on the border and some say American help (Sabre fighters, 1000 Patton and Sherman tanks,...) prevented the full attack) and later America. I think the resistance was something we can be proud on, despite all that was happening. It was a dirty and TOTAL war.

The Yugoslav partisans had navy, spitfires, tank units, freed zones, roentgen hospitals, press, airfields where allied bombers could land if damaged....... Such a resistance was present NOWHERE in the occupied countries.

Over Slovenia went communications with Italian front, where 'Smiling Albert' was holding Brits and Yanks. They supplied partisans with brens, stens, plastic explosive, AT rifles, PIAT launchers, mortars,... Partisans even created a 'partop' for assaulting bunkars, which had an explosive filled italian helmet as a projectile.
For some reason I cant open the picture, so here is the link https://www.google.si/search?q=parto...GIePswbpzoHICg
The train lines were always severd, bridges and tunnels destroyed, transports mined, supply caches blown up....

Next we will talk about an inserted chetnik Pero Popivoda, who received high rank although querreling all the time. Just to show what a traitor can do.

The tensions ustashe and chetniks left behind exploded in last Balkan war, after TITO who held us together and preached brothership and unity died. Generations and generations will die, before, if ever, all will be forgotten and forgived.